The sabermetric types like Ted Berg and Blastings Thrilledge have been wondering why Met fans like Marlon Anderson and dislike Carlos Beltran. Now, what I live for is to explain common sensical items to the people who can only understand numbers. Well, I’m also hoping the Fire Joe Morgan people name their next blog after me.
So I give you the MMM (Most Memorable Moment) Rating.
- The basic rules
- Take a player’s OPS in his most memorable moment(s)
- Add a bonus point for RBI / At Bat
- The Agbayani rule: A hit that wins the game erases any negative memorable moments that preceded it. The Carlos Corrolary in this rule’s converse: a play that ends the season can erase any positive moments that preceded it.
- Jeter Points: Jeter Points are awarded for the kinds of things that people love Derek Jeter for:
- Making a play in a particularly unconventional way such as a behind the back flip or a jump throw in left field. Note: unconventional doesn’t have to be good.
- Diving into the stands and / or breaking bones
- Dating a supermodel or singer while she’s hot and you’re single. (A-Rod, please note those caveats)
- Add other bonus points as feels appropriate, in proper proportion to the Mookie Index described below
OK, that seems simple enough, right? Let’s see it in action.
I only remember 2 at bats from Marlon Anderson. They were both late-inning clutch base clearing pinch hit doubles. OBP = 1.000. SLG = 2.000. RBI / AB = 3.000 Total score: 6.000!
That’s pretty good. One of the best I know of, actually. Benny Agbayani actually has better, because I only remember 2 of his at bats: the grand slam in Japan and the 3-run 12th inning walk-off homer in the NLDS. OBP = 1.000. SLG = 4.000. RBI / AB = 3.500. Total score: 8.500!
The only better score is Mookie Wilson, and that’s only because of the arbitrary bonus points. It turns out that in a single at bat Mookie Wilson jumped away from a slider AND hit a roller to first base. That’s right. In the SAME AT BAT. Now the OBP = 0. SLG = 0. RBI / AB = 0. But he gets 10.000 Bonus Points for turning a World Series loss into a Game 6 win that was followed by a Game 7 win. Had they lost Game 7 he’d only get Endy Chavez-like bonus points.
Now let’s consider Carlos Beltran. He gets a zero. That’s right, ZERO!! In fact, some people think he deserves negative bonus points for striking out looking. Had he thrown his bat at a low and outside slider or jawed with the umpire, he’d have lost Dignity and Professinalism points but gained far more valuable Spunk points. But no. He struck out looking.
Now Beltran had one of the best LCS’s ever. But he did it for a different team. No points. If you think he had a great 2006 postseason, you’re not paying attention. The 2006 postseason had the following moments: Beltran strikeout, Chavez catch, Molina homer, Taguchi homer, Mota bad pitch choice, double tag out at the plate. That’s it. That’s all that happened in the Mets’ 2006 postseason. You may remember other stuff, like the Carloses hitting or Glavine’s 2 great starts or Maine and Perez’s impressive postseason debuts. But if you remember them, then you’re probably not one of those fans that we’re discussing: the ones that like Anderson and not Beltran.
Beltran had some memorable homers. The only runs in the first game of the NLDS. Walk-off in the Pujols-Delgado August game. Bottom of the 16th against the Phillies. And that’s just 2006. And they were all at Shea. And when the Mets started 2005 with 5 losses, it was Beltran with the 8th inning come from behind shot off of Smoltz that started the Mets 6 game winning streak. But they’re all dwarfed by that Casey moment (I know, Casey took the first 2 and swung at the third, but I think that was the only difference).
